PRESS RELEASE David Hall, Ullswater Steamers wins Silver at the 2012 VisitEngland Awards for Excellence Ceremony held in Leicester on 22 May 2012 David Hall has won a Silver Award in the Customer Service category at the prestigious VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2012 Ceremony. The Silver Award is one of the highest accolades for Excellence in Tourism in England which VisitEngland can bestow. David Hall was presented with their Silver Award at a glittering Awards Ceremony which was held on 22 May 2012 at Athena, an art deco gem located in the heart of Leicester’s cultural quarter. Commenting on the Award James Berresford, VisitEngland’s Chief Executive said "In a year when we received a record of 392 high quality applications winning a Silver Award is a considerable achievement. David Hall has achieved one of the highest accolades for excellence in tourism which VisitEngland can bestow. I warmly congratulate him". The Customer Service Award is being sponsored by Welcome to Excellence. Sue Gill, Head of Skills and Training, Tourism South East for Welcome to Excellence, sponsors of the Outstanding Customer Service of the Year Award said; “We sponsored the ‘Outstanding Customer Service of the Year Award’ because we have a passion for customer service and visitor perceptions are often defined and remembered through great service encounters. Congratulations to David Hall and continue to be brilliant.” Speaking on behalf of Ullswater Steamers, David Hall said “I am delighted to be nominated by Ullswater Steamers for this award. I always believe that you service should be with a smile, it’s what makes my job so great. - Ends - Notes to Editors Insert all contact details here Include if you wish some background notes on the business Attachments We recommend you consider including all or some of the following with any press release Good photo(s) of your business Photo of your spokesperson Your Awards logo (sent to you as an attachment) Artwork of your logo (if you have one) Copy of your award presentation picture downloaded from the website About VisitEngland VisitEngland is the country’s national tourist board. We work in partnership with the industry to develop the visitor experience across England, plan national tourism strategy, grow the value of tourism in England and provide advocacy for the industry and our visitors Our work is underpinned by robust research and customer insights. You can access the latest in-depth market intelligence and statistics on www.visitengland.org/insight- statistics VisitEngland markets England under the Enjoy England consumer brand in the domestic market and markets England under the VisitEngland brand internationally About the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2012 . The Enjoy England Awards for Excellence 2012 celebrate the best of English tourism. They promote healthy industry competition and high standards, helping to ensure England's place as a world-class destination. www.enjoyengland.com/excellence . The 17 categories for the 2011 awards include: Access for all Tourism Award, Bed & Breakfast / Guest Accommodation of the Year, Best Tourism Experience, Business Tourism Award, Caravan Holiday Park, Large Hotel (over 35 bedrooms), Large Visitor Attraction (over 100,000 visitors), Outstanding Customer Service, Self Catering Holiday of the Year, Small Hotel of the Year (under 50 Bedrooms), Small Visitor Attraction (under 50,000), Sustainable Tourism Award, Taste of England Award, Best Tourism Event, Tourist Information Service, Tourism SuperStar, and Travel Article of the Year. Included in the 17 categories is the additional award for Outstanding Contribution to Tourism to be announced on the night. Previous winners of this award have included The Great English Pub, Michael Eavis CBE, HM The Queen, the Harry Potter films, Sir Cameron Mackintosh and in 2007, Sir Paul McCartney, Liverpool and The National Trust. .